


Inauguration Day

by CaptainJZH



Category: Steven Universe (Cartoon)
Genre: Gen, Post-Dewey Wins, Small town politics
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2017-11-18
Updated: 2017-11-18
Packaged: 2019-02-04 02:13:50
Rating: General Audiences
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 1
Words: 1,761
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/12760998
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/CaptainJZH/pseuds/CaptainJZH
Summary: Nanefua’s first day as mayor: Breakfast, passing the torch, reading files, lunch, and making one, very special mayoral appointment.





	Inauguration Day

Nanefua always woke up early. It was part of her usual routine. She got out of bed at promptly 5:00am, did her morning exercises, had her breakfast, checked the internet, and started her day. Today, however, that last step meant something much more important than usual.

 

Today, she began her tenure as Mayor of Beach City.

 

“Have fun at work today,” Kofi told her as he had his breakfast on the other side of the table.

 

“Well not  _ fun _ ,” Kofi corrected quickly, “it’s of course very serious work, and we’re all proud of you and I just hope you do well actually I know you’ll do well and I-”

 

Nanefua pressed her finger against his lips, silencing him.

 

“You’re babbling again, Kofi,” she said softly, “You should probably get ready. You know how the morning rush goes.”

 

“Shouldn’t you be going soon too, Mom? I would think the mayor’s hours begin long before the pizza shop opens.”

 

“Today may be my first day, but it’s also Dewey’s last. He’s been mayor for 10 years now. I figured I’d give him a couple more hours as mayor as a parting gift.”

 

“Just be sure to have your lunches here. You’ll get the family discount, AND the mayor discount! Heck, I can even have Kiki or Jenny deliver them to you at the town hall!”

 

“Bribing me for political favors already, Kofi? I thought I taught you better than that.”

 

“Well I-” Kofi began, before realizing his mother was just teasing him, “Mom, you’ll do great.”

 

Nanefua smiled and got out of her chair.

 

“Say hi to Jenny and Kiki for me,” she started, “and tell them whoever gets my lunch to the town hall fastest gets to have Dewey’s old Mayormobile.”

 

Kofi would have said something, but just laughed as Nanefua grabbed her coat and walked out the door.

 

\---

 

Nanefua walked up to the town hall. It wasn’t very big, considering the size of the town, but it was enough to feel important. Ex-Mayor Bill Dewey came out, carrying a box of pictures and putting them in the back of his car.

 

“Billiam,” she nodded.

 

“Ms. Mayor,” he nodded in return.

 

“Good luck out there,” she said back.

 

Dewey chuckled.

 

“I wish I could say the same to you, but I have a feeling you’ll be able to handle this job better than I have in the past two years.”

 

“I imagine it was easier back before oceans started disappearing and alien invasions became a regular occurrence.”

 

“Yeah… I’m kinda glad it’s all over, to be honest with ya. When that stuff was going on this job was crazy stressful, and when that stuff wasn’t happening...it got pretty boring, to put it bluntly.”

 

“Oh? Would that explain the infamous Giant Ice Cream ceremony of 2013?”

 

“Oh God, people still remember that? Well, I know the town treasurer does, he mentions it at every budget meeting, but still.”

 

Dewey chuckled at himself as he got into his car.

 

“You’ll find the keys to the Mayormobile on the desk, if you want it. Though I imagine you’ll wanna get rid of the head on top.”

 

Nanefua smiled.

 

“I’ll make use of it.”

 

“Oh, and one last favor?” Dewey asked before starting the ignition, “Could you keep my bodyguards on the payroll? My cousin and his friend kinda need the money.”

 

“They’re in good hands, Billiam.”

 

Dewey gave a final look up at the town hall.

 

“You’re doing great already,” he said with a tear forming in his eye.

 

And with the start of a worn-out engine, Dewey was off. What he was going to do from then on he didn’t know.

 

\---

 

Nanefua took her seat behind the mayor’s desk for the first time. It felt smaller than she expected. On it was a whole bunch of paperwork that she got right down to reading and signing. After a few hours, her “In” pile was down to a stack of files and the keys to the Mayormobile.

 

On the stack of files there was a note reading, “You’ll need this - Dewey.”

 

Inside were records of various Gem-related incidents within the town, dating all the way back to when Dewey’s grandfather had office in the late Forties, ranging from actual photos to vague insurance reports.

 

The files got more and more sparse once she reached Billiam’s tenure as mayor.

 

“Poor guy didn’t know what he was getting into,” she mused, “Couldn’t keep up.”

 

Nanefua stopped mid-thought and began to wonder if she could keep up with the alien attacks on the town. She had helped the Crystal Gems in the past- That one time with the puffer fish monster -but that didn’t make her as knowledgeable on the subject as she wanted to be.

 

She thought through her options.

 

Calling the Crystal Gem household would be the obvious answer, but they were out a lot and didn’t seem too keen on giving humans a lecture on the workings of their species.

 

Steven was the next option, but she had her doubts that he could fill in the gaps. He was a good boy, but she could tell he didn’t know that much about Gems despite living with them.

 

The idea of going to Mr. Universe over at the car wash crossed Gunga’s mind, but he seemed more in the dark than Steven at his best times, so he fell to the bottom of the list.

 

The only one left in her mind was someone nobody would expect to hold any governmental position, unless forced to do community service. 

 

But she knew he could be trusted. After all, their families’ businesses had been neighbors for many years, and they were friends of sorts. 

 

Speaking of which, she was getting hungry.

 

And as if the heavens could hear her thoughts, Kiki and Jenny came running up the stairs and bursting through the door carrying two bags each, both containing Nanefua’s lunch.

 

Kiki got to her first.

 

“I win!” she said, snatching the keys on the desk.

 

“No fair, you run all the time!” Jenny said back, trying to catch her breath.

 

“That’s what you get for taking the car so many times,” Kiki said smugly.

 

“We were gonna use that van to store our band equipment!”

 

Nanefua finally spoke up.

 

“Girls, girls, please. No arguing. Thank you both for the lunch. But you must go now, I have important duties to attend to. I will see you two later. Oh, and tell your father I’ll be paying full price. I’ll send him the check later.”

 

\---

 

Later that day, she walked up to the lighthouse to visit her special nominee. Nanefua knocked on the door.

 

Ronaldo Fryman opened it.

 

“Oh, hello Nanefua,” he greeted her.

 

“Hello, Ronaldo,” she said, extending her hand, “It’s good to see you. May I come in?”

 

“Oh sure,” Ronaldo said as he moved out of the way.

 

“It’s been a while, Nanefua. What brings you around here on what I’m guessing is your first day as Mayor?”

 

“How’s that book of yours doing?” she asked, not quite ready to get into his inquiry.

 

“Only two purchases so far, but maybe that’s for the best. Since then I’ve found out I was a bit wrong about certain things…”

 

“That’s putting it generously,” Nanefua remarked with a slight giggle, “I should know, I was the other person who bought one.”

 

“And did you…?”

 

“Like it? Oh yes. Believe it? Not in the slightest. But considering your lack of information at the time, I guess it was understandable for you to make the conclusions you did.”

 

“Yeah… So what brought you here again?”

 

“An offer. One I think you’ll be interested in.”

 

“Is it another Koala Princess boxset? Because until I get mine back from Steven I can’t do my usual season 1 rewatch and I-”

 

“How does ‘Intergalactic Diplomat’ sound?” Nanefua interrupted, knowing exactly what strings she was pulling.

 

And Ronaldo, for the first time in his life, was speechless.

 

“Of course, that’s putting it generously on my part,” she clarified, “To put it frankly, I need someone who can report on every Gem-related incident in this town, and while your interpretations have left a lot to be desired, you have kept steady track of them over the years. You’d be in charge of relations between Beach City and the Crystal Gems. Like...an ambassador.”

 

“I… I don’t know what to say,” Ronaldo finally said.

 

“You’d be doing a great service to a community. What better way to keep Beach City weird than to help the person running it?”

 

Ronaldo looked at his old conspiracy board, which hadn’t been used in months if not years.

 

“I haven’t posted on my blog in a while,” he began, “I guess part of that was because I was putting together my book, but even afterwards…I haven’t really kept up with Gem stuff, to be honest. I think I lost my edge.”

 

“Ronaldo,” Nanefua said in an assuring tone, “I have known you ever since you started working in that fry shop. I have followed Keep Beach City Weird since it’s very inception. I check it every morning. Heck, I still have my KBCW badge. And I know you can still do what you did back then, but even better now that you have the right information.”

 

“Why don’t you go to Steven for this?”

 

“He’s just a boy. Helping local politicians should be the least of his problems. And besides, you’re better friends with Steven than me. Anything you don’t know you can just get from him or one of his guardians.”

 

Ronaldo looked over at the stack of unsold KBCW books in the closet. He thought about the lack of views on his Rising Tides/Crashing Skies documentary. He thought about his time working at the fry shop, wasting away at a dead end job he barely did anything at. Maybe this was his chance to actually make a difference.

 

“Alright,” he said, “I accept.”

 

\---

 

It was getting late, but Nanefua had one more thing to do before she left for the night.

 

“Mr. and Mrs. Barriga,” she said into the phone, “I want you to know that I am very sorry for what you are going through right now. I can’t imagine what it’s like to have your son abducted like he was. And I want you to know I’ll be doing everything I can to bring him home and make sure he’s alright.”

 

First item on her agenda for tomorrow: Obtain update on Lars Barriga, and inquire about the likelihood of his return.


End file.
